YOU DID NOT READ A MISPRINT OR TYPING ERROR---THAT'S RIGHT, 1 DIAMOND WEIGHING 60 CARATS (59.60 CARATS TO BE EXACT) ESTIMATED TO BE SOLD FOR US$60 MILLION OR AROUND RM 200 MILLION BY THE TIME THE PREMIUM TO SOTHEBY'S IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT!
With the Magnificent Oval white diamond and Premier Blue diamond also to be sold by Sotheby's, never has there been such a spectacular season for coloured and white diamonds and what a sensational tribute to Sotheby's which is celebrating 40 years in Asia!
The 118.28 carat Magnificent Oval white diamond is expected to sell for RM 115 million on 7 October by Sotheby's Hong Kong while the 7.59 carat Premier Blue diamond should go for RM 60 million.
History will REALLY be made should ALL 3 diamonds are bought by 1 person! At a total cost of at least RM 375 million!
Actually this is rather easy as only a handful of humans alive today can afford to fork out RM 375 million CASH as Sotheby's and the diamonds' owners are not interested in payment by instalments!
At this rarefied level, once you win the bid, the diamond is immediately yours upon clearance of cheque, credit card or cash!
Time-wasters are not welcome!
This pink marvel of 60 carats expected to be sold for US$ 60 million---that's US$ 1 million per carat!
Sotheby’s to Auction
THE PINK STAR
One of the World’s Natural Treasures
The most valuable diamond ever to be offered at auction
Estimated in excess of $60 million,
The 59.6‐carat Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond
Will be auctioned in Geneva on 13 November 2013
Sotheby’s Geneva announces today that it will present The Pink Star, the
most valuable diamond ever to be offered at auction, in its sale of Magnificent Jewels on 13 November 2013.
A world’s natural treasure estimated in excess of $60 million, this 59.60‐carat oval cut pink diamond is the
largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever
graded.
Commenting on the forthcoming sale of The Pink Star, David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery
Division in Europe and the Middle East and Chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland, said: “I have had the
privilege of examining some of the greatest gemstones in the world over the past 35 years, and I can say,
without hesitation, that The Pink Star diamond is of immense importance. Its exceptional richness of colour –
graded as ‘vivid pink’ by the Gemological Institute of America – combined with its extraordinary size, are
characteristics that surpass those of any known pink diamond in State, Royal, or private collections. It is
difficult to exaggerate the rarity of vivid pink diamonds weighing only five carats, so this 59.60 carat stone is
simply off any scale, and passes, I believe, into the ranks of the earth’s greatest natural treasures.”
Not only has The Pink Star received the highest colour1 and
clarity grades from the GIA for pink diamonds, it has also
been found to be part of the rare subgroup comprising less
than 2 % of all gem diamonds ‐ known as Type IIa: stones in
this group are chemically the purest of all diamond crystals
and often have extraordinary optical transparency. In
addition, this extraordinarily important gem is more than
twice the size of the magnificent ‘Graff Pink’ – the 24.78 carat
fancy intense pink diamond which established a world
auction record for a diamond and any gemstone or jewel at
$46.2 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010. The current
record price per carat for a pink diamond ($2,155,332) was
set by a 5‐carat fancy vivid pink diamond2.
“The occurrence of pink diamonds in nature is extremely rare
in any size”, said Tom Moses, senior vice‐president of the
Gemological Institute of America. “It’s our experience that
large polished pink diamonds – over ten carats – very rarely
occur with an intense colour (…) The GIA Laboratory has been
issuing grading reports for fifty years and this is the largest
pink diamond with this depth of colour [vivid pink] that we
have ever characterised”*.
The 132.5 carat rough diamond was mined by De Beers in
Africa in 1999 and painstakingly cut and polished by Steinmetz Diamonds over a period of two years and
transformed into this stunning gemstone. Unveiled to the press and public as the ‘Steinmetz Pink’ in Monaco
in 2003, the stone was first sold in 2007 and subsequently renamed ‘The Pink Star’.
In 2003, the diamond was shown at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, in the Splendor of
Diamonds exhibition, along with seven of the world’s rarest diamonds including the De Beers Millennium
Star, the Allnatt diamond, and the Moussaieff Red. In 2005‐2006, it was the star attraction of the Diamonds
exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London. The stone also features in all authoritative books on the
subject.
Ever since they were first discovered in the mines of India centuries ago, pink diamonds have been coveted
by rulers and prized by connoisseurs. They are probably the most desirable of all the coloured diamonds.
Many of the great gems of history happen to be pink diamonds, including the ‘Williamson', the ‘Hortense',
the ‘Darya‐i‐Nur' and the ‘Agra'.
The sale of The Pink Star continues Sotheby’s tradition of bringing some of the rarest and most extraordinary
objects to market. Sotheby’s Geneva has sold a number of the most valuable diamonds in the world and
holds the current world auction record for a diamond and any gemstone or jewel since the sale of the ‘Graff
Pink’ ‐ an exceptionally rare and truly magnificent Fancy Intense Pink diamond of the purest, vibrant hue,
weighing 24.78 carats for CHF 45.4 million ($46.2 million)
Given the global interest in a treasure of this nature, The Pink Star will be showcased on a worldwide tour,
travelling to cities including Hong Kong, New York, London, Zurich and Geneva.
* Tom Moses quoted in Mike Duff, “The Sharpest Cut” in Financial Times, 31 May 2003.
1 Fancy Vivid – The very top grade of colour for pink diamonds
Of all the grades of pink which exist including fancy light pink, fancy pink, fancy intense pink, fancy deep pink and fancy vivid pink, ‘Fancy Vivid’ is the highest possible colour grade for a pink diamond.
2 Notable Pink diamonds sold at auction
The Graff Pink
The magnificent fancy intense pink round‐cornered rectangular step‐cut diamond weighing 24.78 carats, potentially flawless, Type IIa. When it was offered for sale in 2010, the stone came from a private collection, and had not appeared on the open market since it was purchased some 60 years ago from Mr. Harry Winston.
Sold for CHF 45,442,500 (US$46,158,674) at Sotheby’s Geneva in November 2010.
*** World auction record for a diamond and any gemstone or jewel ***
The Vivid Pink
A 5.00‐carat cushion‐shaped fancy vivid pink diamond ring, VS1, potentially flawless, Type IIa, by Graff
Sold for HK$83,540,000 (US$10,776,660) by Christie’s Hong Kong, December 2009
*** World record price per carat for a pink diamond and any diamond at auction – US$2,155,332 ***
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